Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch is best known for a stunningly petty and embarrassing tantrum that held a government funding bill in limbo because a provision of it honored a former political rival and giant of Idaho politics, Cecil Andrus. Now, by dint of seniority rather than ability, the petty partisan has a power position in the Senate, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. He's not off to a good start, having just lied to his fellow senators, including Republicans, about the administration's response to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
A handful of Senate Republicans on the Foreign Relations Committee are livid with the Trump administration for ignoring their demands for further investigation of the murder. But not Risch, a committed Trump loyalist. He's so loyal to Trump, he lied to his fellow senators, telling them that Trump "had complied with the Magnitsky Act by sending Congress a report determining who was responsible for the Saudi journalist's murder—even though the administration had already publicly declared that it was going to ignore lawmakers’ demand[s]."
That's news to Sen. Cory Gardner, committee member, who is livid with the administration and with Risch. "It sounds like there is confusion about what exactly did or didn't come" from the administration. "Sen. Risch just informed me that the administration has complied with the law. So you might want to clarify with Sen. Risch." Risch apparently told Sen. Marco Rubio the same thing, that the administration had complied with Magnitsky, even though the committee had seen nothing of the report. Risch doubled down on this lie with Politico. "Yeah, sure, they" sent the report, Risch said. "They've been very forthcoming. They've given us, I think, everything that they've had. So they're doing well."
Risch tried to clean up the mess by sending a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting a classified briefing on what the administration was doing to hold the Saudi government accountable for Khashoggi's murder. That letter praised Pompeo and the administration for its "ongoing efforts" to work with Congress on the matter, an effort that no one else on the committee has apparently seen. Democrats on the committee tried to insert language stating that the administration "is not in compliance" with the law, "which is of grave concern to members of this committee." Needless to say, the draft with that language wasn't sent, and Democrats didn't sign on. Neither did committee Republicans Rand Paul and Mitt Romney. Paul's office says it was never asked to sign, and Romney's office didn't respond to Politico's request for comment.
Democrats, and probably not a few Republicans, see Risch turning the powerful committee into a rubber stamp for Trump. "If we let [Trump] get away with this—I mean, we might as well repeal the Magnitsky Act if we're willing to endorse a president refusing a certification like this," said Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy. "I think it's really unfortunate if the Foreign Relations Committee takes the position that the president is complying with the law when he clearly is not."
Risch isn't only making enemies within his own committee and party; he's embarrassing us on the world stage. This interview with German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle at the annual Munich Security Conference reinforced the "growing divide between the U.S. and Europe," with Risch acting as an active partner of Trump. Grilled in the video interview, Risch insisted, "I really give President Trump a lot of credit because, indeed, since he has been in office and since he has underscored this, there are countries that are making much better efforts to live up to their agreements."
That's his story and he's sticking to it. Even if it means ignoring the brutal murder of a U.S. journalist by what Trump, and Risch, consider an ally.